Dirty Little Secret
by FoveroKaiExypno
Summary: Shaelynn Savela is just a muggle-born witch trying to make it in this new world of magic after her parents died. However, the magical world has things in store for her she could not have imagined before. DMxOC
1. chapter 1

**I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling.**

 **Forgive any mistakes, I haven't written anything in 4 or 5 years, so bear with me please.**

Chapter 1

Origins

I stood on the platform, looking at the train in awe--platform nine and three-quarters, to be exact. The shiny red train was enormous, but I supposed that it would have to be to accomodate all of the people that have to go to this school. I was still in shock of what had happened only weeks before; my parents dying, being brought here by an old man with a beard that someone was going to trip on if he didnt trim the dang thing soon.

I supposed that's why I was so calm about it all. The shock was still very much in my system. I looked around at all the kids with their parents, who were saying their tearful, but temporary, goodbyes. A sharp pang of sadness cropped up in my chest. I rubbed at it a little, trying to ease the ache, but to no avail. The ache still persisted. I turned away and walked on to the train, hoping to distract myself.

Since I wasn't used to trains, being from Texas and all, I was a bit surprised at the compartments. I was expecting something more like the seating on an airplane, with rows of seats. I started peeking into compartments, trying to find one that was empty. I wanted to wallow in my misery alone. Most of them were already full or had at least one person in them. Finally, I found one at the end of the train with no one in it and quickly went into it.

I stared out the window, but I quickly changed my mind when I saw all the parents still on the platform, looking for their children on the train. The ache was just getting worse. Instead, I looked down and took out my iPod and earbuds. I scrolled through music until I found something I wanted to listen to, then stuck my earbuds in and closed my eyes. With the music playing loudly in my ears, I didn't notice when the compartment door slid open and someone came in. Thus, when I opened my eyes and there was suddenly a boy sitting across from me, looking at me, I gasped and grabbed my chest.

I started apologizing as I pulled the earbuds from my ears. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." The boy was peculiar, with a sharp face and even sharper hair. White-blonde hair, just like mine. Though, his was slicked back, and he had gray eyes--very much not like my deep, emerald green eyes.

"It's alright. My name's Draco. Draco Malfoy," he said in a strangely condescending voice. He stuck his hand out for me to shake.

I stuffed down my internal reaction of sighing and rolling my eyes, and instead shook his hand. I didn't really want to make friends, at least not yet. I wanted to be alone, but instead I said, "Shaelynn Savela. Nice to meet you."

"Your hair's really nice, Shaelynn."

"Thank you," I said genuinely, smiling. _Maybe he's not so bad_ , I thought. My hair was really straight, but I couldn't tell if his was or not because of all the hair gel. "No, it's not dyed, just like I'm supposing yours isn't."

He smiled back. "Never has been, never will be. Though, everyone always thinks that it is."

I laughed. "Mine, too! Everyone's always asking what business a child has to dye her hair, and I'm just like 'it's not dyed, though.' Usually people don't believe me, since it's such an unusual natural color."

He chuckled a little with me. "Exactly, they always think I've been playing with magic, dying my hair. At least, until they realize who I and my parents are." He paused, looking at me with a strange expression for a second before it cleared. "What's that thing you have in your hands, the one you had in your ears?" He seemed honestly curious, which I questioned for a moment, since this was fairly old technology. I had assumed everyone knew of iPods by now.

"This is an iPod, it plays music. I can play games and stuff on it, too, but its main purpose it to listen to music," I said matter-of-factly, not much emotion in my voice.

He nodded, narrowing his eyes at me. "It's a muggle device, correct?"

I stared at him for a second, forgetting that "muggle" was a term used by the magic inclined to refer to the non-magical people. As soon as I remembered, I nodded. "Yeah, my parents..." I hesitated, then cleared my throat. "My parents bought it for me last year."

"Your parents are muggles?" he said with a tone of disgust.

I thought I might've misunderstood his tone. Why would them being muggles be a problem? "Yeah, I suppose so. Is there a problem with that?"

He wiped his hand on the seat next to him. "I would say so, you filthy Mudblood."

"I'm sorry? What the hell is a 'filthy Mudblood,' and why the hell is my parentage a problem for you, _buddy_?" I said, my voice full of venom.

This time he smirked at me, and it irked me quite a bit. My eyes narrowed and my mouth settled into a firm line. He started to explain, "A Mudblood is what you are, idiot. Someone with muggle parents. In other words, your blood is dirty, tainted with that of," he sneered, " _non-magical_ people."

I glowered at him, sitting up a little straighter as I put my iPod and earbuds in my pocket. "And who are you to judge me and my blood? A doctor? Has this been medically proven, that my blood has dirt in it?"

Draco looked confused for a split second, then covered it up with a smirk. "I'm a pureblood. I don't need a doctor-whatever that is-to tell me that your blood is absolutely filthy, while mine is clean and pure. I come from a long line of _only_ witches and wizards, while you come from a long line of filth. Obviously."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you high or something? Who cares what our parentage is; we're both here because we both have magic, and I'm willing to bet that I have just as much as you, you absolute blockhead. We're here for a _magic_ school. Seriously." I just watched with the same expression as Draco's face got redder and redder with each word I said. I had made him quite upset, it seemed.

"How _dare_ you talk to me like that, you filthy little Mudblood! You should treat your superiors with respect!"

"Listen, sweetie, you seem nice and all, but I would just love it if you'd get the _hell_ out of my compartment, capiche?" I retorted, starting to pull out my iPod again. I was getting tired of this jerk and his tirade of supremacy.

"No, you listen, _Mudblood_. You get out of _my_ compartment! I am your superior, after all!"

"I was here first, and it took me a bit of searching earlier to get an empty compartment. I'm not moving. If you're not, either, that's fine. Stay, by all means. I don't really care anymore." I looked up at him, catching his dumbfounded look, as if he had never been defied so many times in a row, let alone from someone he believed he was far above. "Besides, what kind of insult is 'Mudblood'? It's really terrible, it's not that hurtful. Apparently you purebloods could use a little muggle wit to come up with some new, not-so-lame insults."

As the boy was about to retort, the door slid open, revealing two rather large boys and a small girl with an upturned nose. The girl looked at me with distaste.

"Who is this, Draco?" she asked, sounding dangerously on the verge of a psychotic break in which she killed everyone she could get to.

"Just some filthy Mudblood who won't get out of my compartment, Pansy." The girl nodded and walked in, sitting directly beside Draco, a little too much in his personal space, if his face was anything to go by. The two boys stepped into the compartment, but didn't sit, seeing how I was in the middle of the other bench, with one of my bags strewn across the seat. One of them dared to squeeze beside Pansy, next to the window, but the other was left standing.

"Oh, are you still on about it being your compartment?" I rolled my eyes. "I was here first, for one thing. Another thing, I don't feel like moving. In fact, neither does my bag." I adjusted my bag on the seat and laid down, using it as a pillow. There was eye contact between Draco and I the whole time.

The boy who was still standing shifted nervously, looking a little panicked, as if he had no idea what to do. Pansy looked at me, curled her lip in disgust, and said "Where does someone like you get off talking like that to people like us?!"

I shrugged. "I'm sure you've all noticed by now that I don't have an English accent, nor Scottish, Irish, or any of the other places in Europe. I'm from the United States, where everyone is treated equally. Also, I'm from Texas. You know what they say." I looked the girl straight in the eye. "Don't mess with Texas."

As Pansy was quivering in fear, Draco laughed. "No wonder you're so thick, you're from the States! It all makes sense now."

I sat up quickly. "Did you just call me stupid?" I glared directly at him this time.

"See, there she goes again, having to ask to be sure of the insults," he smirked, not even deigning to talk to me.

I settled into a very calm state of anger. My glare dropped, my expression flattened and emptied, and my shoulders went back so I was sitting up straight."You're making a mistake, screwing with me. I may not have been raised in magic, but I'm willing to bet that I could still give you a run for your money."

"You probably couldn't even hurt a fly with your stupid, little Mudblood wand," Draco said, getting a little angrier.

I smirked. _I hurt his pride,_ I thought. _That will be his downfall._ As I pulled out my wand, I said, "Don't regret this later. I mean, you will, but you should still think this through before you decide to do something stupid."

Draco looked at my wand, held loosely in my hand and pointed down. He pulled out his own wand and pointed it straight at me with an obviously firm grip, his arm outstretched; this meant that his wand was basically right in my face. I put my wand up, as well, though it wasn't as close to him as his was to me, seeing as I was a bit shorter than him. I glared at him. He glared back, then opened his mouth to say an incantation, "Loco-"

I was quicker though, and cut him off. "Impedimenta!" He got knocked back into the bench so that he was sitting down. I smirked victoriously. He glowered at me, and I shrank back a little from the force of it. _Now,_ I thought, _he's really pissed._

The other kids tried to help him up, but he just shoved them off. "I'm fine! Get off me!" He got up and pointed his wand at me again. "Locomotor mortis!"

I quickly brought my wand back up. "Protego!" I shouted, but only managed to weaken the curse as it passed through the flimsy shield I had made. My legs locked up tight, and I fell back onto my own bench, very uncomfortably. I glared at Draco as he smirked, happy with his own little victory.

"Come one guys, let's find a less _filthy_ compartment for the rest of the trip," he said. They left me there, and he was the last one to leave, casting me one more condescending glance before shutting the door.

I laid there for a few minutes, since I didn't know the counter-curse. I had only studied bits and pieces of the spells while I had been waiting to come to the school. Thankfully, my shield had weakened the spell enough that it wore off in about five minutes. Once the curse had worn off, I locked the sliding door, got comfy lying down on a bench, and looked at my wand in wonder. It was a beautiful wand, and I did like it very much, though at this point it was fairly plain. I was hoping I could put more intricate designs on it as the years went on. My wand was fir, twelve-and-a-half inches, with dragon heartstring core, and a hard flexibility. The old man who had sold it to me, Ollivander, had said that it took someone with a very powerful personality to weild and bond with a wand like this. I shrugged, thinking, _Whatever that means._

I spent the rest of the trip to Hogwarts laying down and wondering at this new world that I had been thrust into. The magic was amazing, and I was looking forward to learning more about it and how to use it. I closed my eyes and the boy's face and surprisingly pretty eyes flashed through my mind, and I told it to shut up so I could focus on the new magical world and all it would entail.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling.**

Chapter 2

Sorting

The landscape was a blur, passing by outside the train windows. I had just just changed into my robes, thinking it wouldn't be too long before we got to the school. Luckily, no one else had bothered me for the rest of the trip, save for a girl with big, bushy hair and surprisingly large teeth looking for a toad. She didn't stay long once I told her that I hadn't seen it, though.

A voice came over an intercom, "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, i will be taken to the school separately."

I looked up at my luggage and thought, _Well, that's handy._ I was glad I wasn't going to have to haul my bags off the train, all the way to school. _I guess all those teachers with magic have to be good for something._

The train stopped, finally, and I stepped off to look around. All of the older students were heading off to the side, and I was about to follow them, but then I heard someone yelling "Firs' years over here!" I looked over to see a gigantic man, with a huge beard that almost conjoined with his hair, swinging a lamp to and fro'. I walked over there, one of the last to get into the large group. "C'mon, follow me-any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" I stared up at the large man with eyes the size of saucers for a moment before I snapped out of it and began following everyone else.

We went down a slippery path, and I almost fell a couple of times, one of which I reached out instinctively and grabbed onto the nearest thing-which happened to be someone's robes. Not just _someone's_ robes, either, they were Draco Malfoy's robes. The blonde boy sneered at me, and I quickly let go, my face flushing a bit.

"Watch where you're going, Mudblood," he glared at me. "I don't want any of your filth to get on my expensive robes."

"Don't get so close to me and maybe I wouldn't have to, you bigot," I glared back. He walked away, smirking, and I winced inside. _That was a terrible comeback._ I sighed and kept walking, looking at my feet to make sure I didn't slip again. We turned a bend, and I must've missed something that the giant was saying because all of a sudden, there it was.

Hogwarts was a huge castle on a rocky outcrop. With the starry night sky and a pitch-black lake in front of it, it looked like a scene out of a movie. I had read about it a little already, but that hardly did any justice to it. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open, just like the rest of the first years'. It felt right, though, looking at it, taking the whole thing in. It felt like where I belonged now. I thought of my parents and felt a pang of longing sadness, wishing I could share this with them in some way, but I knew that they were gone, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I looked down and took a deep breath, trying to expel the thoughts from my mind. I didn't really succeed, but I was going to move forward as best I could.

Suddenly, I saw the boats floating on the lake. Little row boats. _Do they expect us to cross that huge lake in those tiny boats? Are they insane? That's scary as heck!_

"No more'n four to a boat!" the giant said. As the other students started piling in the small boats, I realized that they were serious, and they did expect us to cross that whole lake in those boats. I looked at the boats with trepidation, but got into one (gingerly) with a dark-haired boy, a red-headed boy, and the bushy-haired girl that was asking about the toad on the train. "Everyone in? Right then-FORWARD!" shouted the large man.

I grasped at the sides of the boat as it started forward, though it wasn't rocking at all. Both the take-off and the ride were perfectly smooth, and I assumed that was due to magic. It was a good thing that everyone was silent, all too busy staring at the castle ahead to talk, because I was staring at the inky water and trying very hard not to freak out. I thought I saw something move in the water, which had me wide-eyed and clutching the sides of the boat even harder, but then I decided it must've been my overactive imagination. _Even if there was something in the water, it's too dark for me to see anything, obviously._

Suddenly, the giant yelled, "Heads down!" I ducked immediately, and we went under some hanging ivy into a cave, then into a tunnel. When we reached an underground harbor, I scrambled out of the boat, gasping for air. I stopped after I saw Draco Malfoy smirking at me condescendingly. I heard someone say something about a toad, and then we started up some steps, coming to the front door of the castle.

The giant knocked three times, and an old woman with green robes and a stern expression opened it. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the giant said.

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here," the woman, who I supposed must've been Professor McGonagall, said to the giant man, who I now knew was named Hagrid. She let us in, and I looked with awe at the enormous entrance hall, with all the stone and torches. It truly was a medieval castle, inside and out. She herded us not into the hall where I could hear voices coming from, but into a small chamber off the side of it, sort of squishing us all together. Somehow, I kept ending back up next to the blonde-haired bane of my existence, Draco Malfoy, and we had no choice but to be touching. I just looked away and hoped he didn't see the redness in my face.

The older witch started speaking. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses." I looked up at her at this. I had read about it, but didn't really understand. "The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours." She paused a moment, looking toward the doors. "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."

Then she left, and I breathed a sigh of relief, looking around, before remembering that I was squished very close with one blonde boy who already hated me. We locked eyes, and he glared.

"Could you at least _try_ to keep your filth off me? These robes cost more than you will ever have in your bank vault," Draco sneered at me.

I sighed and said, "Listen, Draco, I don't want to be packed in here next to you any more than you do, and really, I promise that I'm trying not to touch you so that I don't get any of your slime-"

I was cut off by a bunch of ghosts gliding through us. I don't know what they said, I was busy freaking out. I knew this was a magic school, but I really was not expecting ghosts. Finally, Professor McGonagall came back and shooed the ghosts off.

"Now, form a line, and follow me," she said.

Draco pushed ahead of me, so I got into line right behind him, and we filed into the extremely over-sized cafeteria called the Great Hall. I looked in wonder at all the candles floating about, and the ceiling that looked like the sky outside. When I finally pulled my eyes away from that, I noticed the four tables with their house colors and whatnot, as well as golden plates, cutlery, and goblets. At the front of the Hall was the teachers' table, and when we got there, we turned about so that we were facing the older students. Professor McGonagall then put a stool and an old, raggedy hat in front of us. I was looking at the hat with confusion when suddenly it opened it's mouth and began to sing a song about itself, and the houses. It was pretty ridiculous.

When the hat finished it's song, everyone applauded, though I was just standing there, looking at it with wide eyes. _What on Earth have I gotten myself into with this school?_

Professor McGonagall stepped forward once again, this time just to tell us to come put the hat on when she called our names. Thus, began the long line of names, calling out of houses, and applause.

Finally, she got to Draco. The hat barely even touched his head before yelling "SLYTHERIN!" He glanced at me with a smug smirk, and went over to the table.

Then she called another interesting name, though I didn't know why. All I knew was that everyone started whispering about him as soon as his name was called. Harry Potter put on the Sorting Hat and sat for a moment, then it called out "GRYFFINDOR!"

I was getting pretty nervous because there was only about four other people left up at the front with me. Luckily, I was next. "Savela, Shae."

I sat on the stool, and then saw nothing as the hat was plunked onto my head. Then I heard it's voice in my mind. "Not bad, not bad at all. You have a lot of talent, no doubt about that... Pretty sharp, as well. A little bit of courage, but no...not Gryffindor... Could be Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Difficult, but you have ambition, and a need to prove yourself, especially after... Yes, yes.. Alright, you should be SLYTHERIN!"

I got up off the stool, a little shocked at what just happened, and started walking over to the table. A few people were clapping, but Draco quickly saw to it that they stopped, and so I took a seat at the very end of the table, my face red.'

Draco leaned over the table and whispered, "There must be some sort of mistake, Slytherin only accepts Purebloods, not filthy Mudbloods like you." He was glaring fiercely at me.

I looked at him, "Well, I guess I was just so overwhelmingly Slytherin, much more than to surpass your stupid prejudices, huh Draco. Good thing the hat is doing the sorting, not a stupid bigot like you, otherwise nothing would ever get done around here." I shook my head and looked away from him, toward the front. That was when I noticed Professor Dumbledore staring at me curiously, the old man who had come to get me after my parents'...accident. He started his speech, and I completely ignored everyone else for the rest of the feast as I ate and drank to my heart's content. I wasn't going to let Draco ruin my experience at this school. It was simply too amazing for all that.

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 **A big thank you to lala423 and FrenchyReader for reviewing! It really helped me get the motivation I needed to finish this chapter! Sorry it took so long!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I had this whole long spiel about my problems and what kept me from writing, but all y'all need to know is here's the next chapter! Finally.. haha, sorry. Warning, language starts to pick up in this chapter.**

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 **Ch. 3**

 **Bias**

Draco Malfoy basically ensured every day after the first was very crappy for me. The dorm I shared with four other girls was no safe haven, as he turned everyone in the house against me in that short amount of time, which was really no problem for him since they almost all had a prejudice against me anyway. Honestly, simply for my parentage, everyone had turned on me. After about a week, they had to put me in a room by myself, simply because of the torture I was receiving on a daily basis. They tore my clothes, broke my stuff, harassed me in my sleep, and when it got physical, they blamed me. I was getting really tired of it. Honestly, we're eleven years old, who has time for that kind of hatred? (Apparently everyone.)

Flying classes were great, they were a bright spot in many of my days. Madame Hooch even said I was a natural at it, which of course made everyone even more eager to pull pranks and such on me. Though, I wasn't nearly as good as that Harry Potter kid.

I got through it, kept my head down, aside from the occasional glaring contest with Draco. It was almost Halloween and I wouldn't let the jerk keep me from enjoying Halloween with actual witches and wizards.

It was the middle of October, and I went to the bathroom before potions class to try and fix my robes. Pansy Parkinson had 'accidentally' spilled ink all over me. As I got my wand out and tried to remove the stains with little success, I heard soft sobs. I looked around. "Hello? Someone in here?"

The girl with the bushy brown hair from Gryffindor, I think, came out, trying to get rid of evidence, but she had obviously been crying. "Oh, hi, I didn't realize anyone else was here." The girl looked at me. "Oh! You're the muggleborn from Slytherin," she said with surprise. She suddenly seemed in a hurry to get away, making sure everything was in her bag and backing toward the door.

"Hey, you're the smart girl, from Gryffindor, right?" I looked at her, chewing on my lip. "Uh...you wouldn't happen to know a spell or charm or...something to get this out?" I turned to show my ink-drenched outfit, flushing a little out of embarrassment. I didn't want everyone to know that I was being bullied by the rest of my house, but it was pretty obvious anyway, and she was the best option I had.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at me, seeming to deliberate something. Finally, she decided, and started going into a whole diatribe about stains and magic to lift them. Eventually she got one spell right and all the ink lifted out of my clothes, into a liquid ball, and she plopped it in the sink. "There you go." She held her hand out for me to shake. "Hermione Granger. You're not so bad, for a Slytherin." She smirked a little.

I took her hand, giving it a little shake. "Shaelynn Savela...or just Shae." I quirked a little grin at her. "Thanks for the ink thing, I couldn't figure out how to get it out. You're not so bad...for a Gryffindor." I looked down at myself again. There was no trace of ink on my shirt, skirt, or robes.

She seemed to remember soething, then looked at her watch. "Oh, no! We're going to be late for potions!" She looked at me, wide-eyed, with a look of shocked horror that was so incongruous with the situation.

I pursed my lips to keep from smiling. "Go on, I'll be out in a minute." She was already heading out the door by the time I finished my sentence. I shook my head and looked in the mirror at myself. I fixed my hair a little bit, and then noticed the shadows under my eyes and frowned. _I guess the stress is taking it's toll._ I splashed a little water on my face, leaning over the sink to keep from dripping all over myself, then grabbed the edge of my newly-cleaned robe and wiped my face off. _Better get to class, Snape is a bitch when he wants to be._ I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the bathroom at a leisurely pace, not in any hurry to get my head bitten off by the Head of Slytherin.

I got to the classroom door and took a deep breath, then opened it and tried to sneak in. Luckily, Snape wasn't in the room. _He must be in the supply closet._ I looked around for an empty seat, but the only empty one was right next to...Draco. _Oh, yay._ I walked over and put my bag down and sat on the stool next to him. I wanted to ask if I missed anything, but that wasn't exactly an option.

Draco slid a note over to me, a smirk on his face. The note said "You're so screwed" and had a crudely drawn stick figure with long hair and X's for eyes. I rolled my eyes and decided to take my chances. I wrote, "Did I miss anything?" and slid the note back over. I looked at him as he just crumpled it up and stuck it in his bag.

I leaned over to him and whispered, "This isn't a joke, Draco, I was late because of your little girlfriend. Tell me what the hell I missed."

He whispered back, as he pushed me away from him, "Get out of my space, I don't want you breathing your dirt on me."

I just glared at him as Snape walked back into the room. I started to stick my middle finger up from under the desk when I was snapped out of it by-

"Savela!" My head snapped forward and my hand went down. "Care to explain to the class why you deemed it necessary to take a break from the beginning of my class today? Better things to do?"

I flushed, my face probably looking like a mottled tomato. "Sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"Detention tonight." Snape turned around, messing with his notes and ingredients. "Malfoy, you as well. No passing notes in class."

I looked over at Draco and smirked, seeing him trying to pass a note to the next table over, where one of his cronies was sitting with Pansy Parkinson. He just put his note down and mumbled, "Yes, sir."

"Now, today..." As Snape began his lecture on what I'm sure was a very interesting potion, I zoned out. I started doodling, instead of taking notes. When Snape was no longer talking, and everyone was getting ingredients out for their cauldrons, I snapped out of it.

I looked over at Draco's notes. All I could read was 'forget' before he pulled it over and covered it up, sneering at me. "Use your own notes, mudblood."

I looked down at my paper filled with doodles of wands and spells and such. "My name is Shae, in case you forgot, since you only seem to like calling me by not-my-name." I scooted over a little bit, trying to lean up and see his notes. I got closer than I realized when my chest brushed his shoulder. I pulled back, and blushed. Hard. No matter that I was using training bras still, and it probably didn't feel any different to an eleven-year-old boy than any other kid, I still blushed bright and red. Seemed like it was one of those days.

He sighed. "I don't care about your name, _Shae_ ," he sneered on my name, "but it you're that desperate for the notes, here." He stuck them in the middle of us, surprising me. I could've sworn I saw a faint pink stain on his cheeks, but I figured I must've imagined it. He glanced over at me, looking up and down my clothes. "How the bloody hell did you get all that ink out, anyway?" He started crushing ingredients, measuring, and putting them into his cauldron.

I looked at him, confused, still red in the face. He sounded almost friendly. _He's probably just asking so that they can make sure they've hexed me or the ink to keep the stains in my clothes._ Before answering, I looked over the notes and started getting things ready for the forgetfulness potion. "I didn't." He looked at me. "II didn't get the ink out. Hermione Granger"-I gestured toward her with my pestle, as she was over lecturing some poor boy about the potion-"she did. I don't know how the hell she did it, girl's amazing."

He scoffed. "The only mudblood in this school worse than you, is _her_. How nice, the riffraff banding together."

I rolled my eyes. "If you're trying to get to me with your insults, you've got to come up with some new ones, Draco. It's getting really old hearing those same words coming out of your mouth every sentence." I stirred my potion, slowly, to make sure none splashed out.

"Alright, how's this." He leaned close so his mouth was almost at my ear. "You're a bloody mudblood whore who needs to get the hell out of this school. Your filthy blood doesn't deserve magic, let alone to know how to use it." He leaned back over into his own space, smirking as he finished up his potion and waved his wand over it. "Want a taste? Maybe you'll forget this whole thing ever happened and go back to your boring, nasty existence."

My face went white, then I narrowed my eyes on him in rage. He wasn't _actually_ supposed to come up with another insult. I had gotten used to the normal derogitories that the rest of the Slytherins used, but I didn't know how to take being called a whore, let alone the forgetting magic and my so-called nasty existence. I glanced up to the front of the classroom where Snape was shuffling papers on his desk, just remind myself that we were in a classroom and I couldn't really do anything. "Why don't you fuck off back to your tea party with the giggling girls over there, asshat. The only one here with a nasty existence is _you_ , hating on people just for their heritage. Which, by the way, we don't control. Go back to your sad little life of making fun of everything that's different just because you're an idiot." I waved my wand over my cauldron, finishing my potion just in time for Snape to stand up and tell everyone to bottle and label a sample of their potions and leave it on his desk before cleaning up to leave.

I reached in my bag to grab a flask to bottle my potion, and as I bent down I felt something trickle down my spine. I straightened up immediately, flask in hand, and looked at Draco, who was smirking. "What the hell? What did you put on me?"

"Oh, nothing. You'll _forget_ about it soon enough, anyway." His smirk grew as he watched my eyes widen with realization.

I quickly bottled my potion and gave it to Snape, then walked over to Hermione, drawing more than a few stares. I glanced over at Draco and felt the effects of the potion start tugging at me. My memory got a little fuzzy, and I stopped moving with such urgency.

Hermione looked at me. "Did you need something, Shae?" She looked confused, which was exactly what I felt.

"Um, yeah, I think so? What did I...ah, something was spilled on me." I thought for a moment, then it came to me. "The potion, it got spilled on me. Is there any way you could help?" I looked at her beseechingly.

"Ah, yes, I know just the thing." She started digging in her bag excitedly.

I waited next to her, feeling stares and hearing not-so-covered-up sounds of amusement coming from the Slytherin side of the room. "You know just the thing...for what?" I didn't remember why I was over here, instead of bottling up my potion for Snape.

She looked up at me and frowned, then pulled out something and handed it to me. "Drink this."

I looked at it. "Why?"

"Just trust me, drink it already."

I shrugged and took a sip. My face flushed-again-as I realized what happened. "Thanks, Hermione, now I owe you times two." I turned around and marched back to to my table. I glared at Draco. "What the hell?" I hissed at him, getting closer. "You could've done serious damage, you fucking asshole. Why the hell did you do that? No, wait, don't answer, I think I know. Because you're a selfish, arrogant, little monster. Stay the hell away from me." I whirled around and grabbed my stuff, practically running out of the classroom.

I knew they hated me, but that was going too far. _At least he didn't try to slip it in my food, skin contact is less severe than taking it orally._ I thanked my lucky stars for that, and went to the bathroom to try to dry my robes off for the second time in as many hours.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4**

 **Third Year**

After that fateful-or, rather, hateful-potions class, I avoided Draco as much as possible. Surprisingly, it seemed like he was avoiding me, too, but maybe I was just good at avoiding people. The rest of October passed much the same way, though with less incidents, since I wasn't seeing the King of Pranks as much. Hermione and I had become sort-of friends, not really hanging out with each other out of class, but helpful to each other while in class. Halloween night came quickly. The feast was great, the troll commotion was not. Christmas came and went, and I got no presents, which wasn't surprising since my parents were dead. I was sad, though. I spent that Christmas in the castle.

Draco and I continued much the same way for the rest of the year, avoiding each other as much as possible, and I found I had started to miss him, with his gray eyes and stupid hair and dumb comments. First year came and went, then was over with. Summer was boring, as I didn't get to do much of anything besides wait in a foster home for school time to come back around. I celebrated my twelfth birthday a few weeks before school started, a boring event that consisted of me stuffing my face with a cake for one, straight out of the package.

Second year was slightly more exciting, if by exciting one means frightening. Some thing hurt muggleborns, and of course I had a lot of death threats. I grew more aware of Draco, and learned I had even developed a slight crush on the boy, though I kept that to myself. No one needed to know that particular detail. As second year came and went, and the summer as well, I found myself very nervous to come back to school for third year. Excited, as well.

I was looking forward to seeing Draco this year. Which was silly, given that he hated me. I had grown over the summer, filled out a little more. My hair was longer and I actually had some small curves, and I wondered if it would be the year that I made my move to try something with him.

As I walked onto the train and went to an empty compartment, I saw Draco down the hallway. I blushed, then ducked into the compartment, tucking myself into the corner. I pulled my earbuds out. I had finally (with some help from Hermione) figured out a charm to keep my iPod working in the school this year. For some reason, magic messed with electronics, but they were okay for the most part on the train. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the window. A little while later, when I opened my eyes, there was a boy across from me in the other seat, smirking.

I jumped a little, blushing slightly. "Jesus, Draco, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Just nearly? Aw, I thought I got rid of you for good," he smirked flipping his hair back. It was longer, falling into his face, not slicked back like he had been styling it for the past two years. I looked him up and down, seeing that he definitely looked older, more handsome. I looked at his face, his striking gray eyes. Then I realized I was staring, and his smirk had grown. I looked away, down to my iPod.

"Are we gonna do this whole compartment argument again? You've got to stop coming into my compartment and trying to take it," I said casually, looking down at my iPod but not really seeing what I was doing.

"I wouldn't have to do that if you'd stop getting into my compartment. C'mon, you know how this goes. You get pissed, do something bloody stupid, and I take you down with a spell that you have no chance of blocking. You might as well save yourself the embarrassment and just leave. Although you seem to like staring at me enough to make me want to let you stay just to stroke my," he paused, a wicked glint in his eye, "ego."

My whole face went red. He had definitely gotten more arrogant. _But you were staring at him_. I went to the door and locked it. "Well, now your reinforcements can't show up. No point in you putting on a show if no one else is here to see it." I looked at him victoriously.

"You do realize...I'm in here too. I could literally just..." He leaned over and unlocked the door.

I frowned and snapped the lock back in place. "Why can't you just find your own compartment?"

"Maybe I like riling you up, Shae."

My eyebrows scrunched together. "You've only called me Shae all of two times. What do you want, Draco?" I had begun to feel like maybe locking the door was a dumb move on my part, Draco was acting weird.

Instead of answering me, he switched seats so he was next to me and pulled the shade down on the compartment window. I watched him, confused. _Okay, he's probably going to murder me or something. He wants no witnesses to testify against him._ He plucked my iPod out of my hand, tapping the screen like it was a foreign object. To him, I suppose it was. Then he leaned close.

"What does this thing do again?'

I stopped breathing for a moment, and when I did all I could smell was him, his cologne, or whatever that smell was. It was nice. I swallowed, feeling my face heat up again. "What are you doing, Draco?"

"I know you have a crush on me, it's all over your face. I thought maybe I'd defile myself a little bit," he smirked. "I know you want it." He leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips.

"Ummm, uhh, uhh. But, but you don't like me." I couldn't formulate thought, let alone sentences. He was right, I had a huge crush on him. Not that he was supposed to know that.

"No, I don't like you at all. I think you're a repulsive, filthy little mudblood," he said, smirking as the blood immediately drained from my face. "However, I'm up for some fun, and I know you are."

I pushed him back. "Fuck you, Draco. I-I don't have a c-crush on you." The room suddenly got icy, and very cold. The windows frosted over. My breath puffed in front of my face. "What the fuck? This isn't fucking funny, Draco."

The door slammed open and we both looked. It was some hooded figure, emaciated to the bone. There were no holes in its tattered robes except for a small...mouth hole? It came close, sniffing, sucking, and I suddenly fell into despair, thinking about all my loneliness, fears and worries over the past two years. Then I thought of my parents, who died right in front of me, and I heard my mom and dad shouting. My eyes rolled up into my head and I passed out.

I woke up to Draco leaning over me, looking actually worried. Him looking worried just made me worried because it must really be bad if the guy who hated me was worried. I was lying out on the bench, and the temperature was normal again. "What...what the hell just happened?"

The worry faded from his face as he quirked a smirk at me. "You fainted, weak little thing that you are. The dementor actually made you faint. That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, sure, all that, except what is a dementor and why was it on the train trying to suck face with me?"

A predatory glint came into his eye. "I'd be glad to take the face-sucking position." Then he explained what a dementor was, and that they were looking for an escaped prisoner. This whole day was coming as a surprise; Draco was actually being helpful.

"God, I feel like shit. My head fucking hurts, and my stomach is cramping." I paused for a moment. "Wait, I heard my mom and dad..." I looked at him hopefully. "Did you hear them too?"

Draco raised his brows and looked at me like I was a complete lunatic. "I didn't hear anything, you crazy mudblood."

"You didn't feel that, that," I tried to put the feeling into words. "That feeling of absolute hopelessness and despair?" I looked at him, trying to read his reaction. Obviously, I couldn't be the only one that felt it. "Is that what they do? Azkaban must be a terrible place." I shuddered and pulled the jacket that was lying on top of me close. Where had that come from? I didn't have a...I looked up at Draco, who was conveniently missing a jacket. I felt a little flush of warmth go through my whole body. He was being _kind_ to me. It was weird, but in a pleasant way.

"Well, I will admit that it felt weird. But, no, I didn't hear anyone, and I didn't pass out. I didn't hear of anyone else passing out either." He frowned at me. He put his hand on my forehead and I stilled all my movements. "Hmm. You _do_ have a slight fever."

I could feel my whole face heat up, and the heat crawled down my neck and chest, as well. "Draco. Why are you being nice to me?"

He sat back and shrugged, going to sit on the opposite bench. I sat up, and pulled the jacket on, fully aware that it smelled like him, his clean scent. He stared while I did it.

"What? I'm cold. You're the one who gave me your hoodie. Now, why are you being so nice to me?"

He sighed. "Well, Shae, you're not the worst company in the world, even if you are a filthy mudblood." He muttered under his breath so I almost didn't catch it, "Better than Pansy, at least." He looked back up at me and narrowed his eyes. "If you ever try to tell anyone that I've been _nice_ to you, or where you got that jacket, I'll deny every word."

I raised my brows. This was definitely unexpected. "Wait, does that mean I can keep the jacket?"

"I don't want it back after you've gotten your mudblood taint all over it. I don't need it anyway." He looked away, toward the door. "You're still a mudblood, and I'm a pure-blood, and I shouldn't even be civil to a stain like you, but here we are. You can't tell anyone. Ever."

"Draco, you realize that I'm not a 'stain,' I'm a person. Right?" I raised my brows as he frowned at me. "I think I'm not the only one with a crush," I smirked at him.

He turned pink. He looked me up and down, as if making sure I was really okay, and told me, "Next time I see you, I'll be back to trading insults with you." He got up and made his way to the door and snapped the lock undone. He walked out without looking back.

I snuggled down into the corner of the bench, zipping the hoodie up and breathing in deep. I smiled. _He likes me. Or, at least, doesn't hate me._ I didn't know where that left us because he was obviously going to go back to spewing vitriol at me any chance he got. Maybe it would be mostly for show, though. I could work with that. I fell asleep most of the way to the castle, and when I woke up I dreaded changing into my robes because I had _his_ jacket on. The dark green hoodie was super soft, probably super expensive, and smelled super like Draco.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Eventful**

I walked into the Great Hall, a small smile on my face. I was very hopeful for this year being better than the first two. I was vaguely aware of the first years being sorted, and Professor Dumbledore's speech about dementors and the escaped prisoner, but mostly I was just thinking about what happened on the train. I hadn't really processed it all, but Draco had _kissed_ me. I smiled to myself as I finished eating. _Maybe there's hope for my crush after all._

After the feast, I bumped into Hermione, who was attached at the hip to Ron Weasley and the famous Harry Potter. I ignored the boys and said, "Hey, Hermione."

She looked a little confused, but smiled back at me, saying, "Hey, Shae. How was your summer?" The two boys just hung around, looking awkward as hell.

My smile fell. I shrugged, "Ah, ya know. Nothing special." I looked down, thinking about the foster family that had tried to take me in that summer. It hadn't exactly worked out. They were super religious, thought I was possessed, and tried to exorcise me. When it didn't work, they tried to 'beat the demon out of me.' I looked back up at her and pasted on a fake smile. "How was your summer?"

"First of all, 'nothing special' sounds like a lie. Second, mine was good. We went camping a few times. It was great." She smiled at me, and I smiled a reall smile back at her. I really liked her, and definitely wouldn't object to being actual friends with her, though I had a feeling that I would be getting a three-for-one offer. I glanced at the boys. Hermione drew my attention back to her by saying, "So...what actually happened over the summer?"

We had gotten closer over the past two years, and she had helped me out of plenty of situations that could've been...bad. I leaned closer to her, not wanting anyone to overhear, but I figured telling her _something_ was a step toward friendship. "You know my parents died before first year?" She nodded. "I've been having trouble with the foster families. Sometimes, things just...happen, and they're muggles, so they think I'm possessed, or the antichrist, or something. It's hard sometimes. But, nothing special wasn't a lie, since that's really nothing special." I pressed my lips together as I leaned back, wondering if I had just made a mistake by telling her. I hadn't told anyone anything like that, not even complained to the foster homes and the CPS.

She came forward and gave me a hug. "That must be hard. Harry's lost his parents, too, and he's in a bad situation at home, as well."

I glanced over at the shaggy-haired boy in question, who had started listening when he heard his name. I did a little, awkward wave. I hadn't ever talked to him, but I knew that they considered all Slytherins evil. He stepped up to me, a frown on his face, "I'm Harry, by the way. What exactly were you two saying about me?" He raised his brows at Hermione.

"I know who you are, Harry Potter. Apparently, you're famous," I quirked a grin. "I'm Shae, and we weren't really talking about anything. Hermione was just drawing similarities to our home situations."

"What similarities?" He looked sort of unnerved by the possibility we had anything in common.

I flushed, embarrassed, and his response bringing anger out in me. "My parents are also dead. Three years ago, they died in front of me. You're right, she shouldn't have drawn similarities because you and I are nothing alike. As if I could have anything in common with the idiot who lived," I scoffed. I turned and walked away. It pissed me off that he thought he was better than me, just because of our houses. No better than the other Slytherins thinking they're better than me for their heritage. I _knew_ I shouldn't have said anything.

I was walking hurriedly, until I got into the common room. I looked around and went into a small alcove in one of the corners. There was a window above it, filtering barely-there green light from the lake. I sat, watching the water until there was no more light. It was actually very calming. I sighed and looked around. There were more people in the common room than before, and I gathered my things to go back up to my one-person dorm. I stopped when I heard Draco's voice, sounding nothing like the boy who came into my compartment on the train. I rolled my eyes. _Back to being_ him, _like he said._

I stood up, heading toward the staircase to the girls' dorms. I only looked up when someone blocked my path. It was Pansy Parkinson. She looked over to Draco, "Aw the wittle mudblood is trying to escape." She giggled, and it grated on my nerves.

I attempted to push past her. "Not in the mood, pugface." She gaped at me.

"Going back to your hole in the ground, filth?" came an arrogant voice behind me. I knew it was Draco, and I knew what he said, but I still blushed when I turned back around to face him. His whole little posse was behind him, and he looked down at me, the smug confidence radiating from him. "Let the mudblood go, Pansy, so she can crawl back into her dirty cave."

"Wow. Buuurrrrnn," I said sarcastically. "You really got me, Draco, that hurt," I said, deadpanning. "Really, you've gotten better at this whole insult thing over the summer. Must be the company you keep. I imagine you have to insult them just to get by in the day, they can't really be all that interesting, can they." I sent a glare to Pansy, and stepped past her to start up the stairs.

I heard Draco call after me, "At least I have friends, you dumb mudblood!" I shook my head and kept walking.

"Yeah, stupid mudblood bitch!" I heard Pansy add.

I rolled my eyes. _Real original._

I got to my dorm room, and went inside, settling in with all my stuff. The hope and eagerness I had begun to feel before faded a bit. I was snapped back to reality after that encounter. Draco didn't have a crush on me, didn't even _like_ me. _He was just playing with me on the train for some sick game. He's probably telling everyone how I fainted, too._ I groaned and shoved my face into the pillow. _I'm an idiot._ I got Draco's jacket out from my trunk where I had stashed it, and curled up with it, even though I felt stupid. _He just smells so good._ I fell asleep like that, clutching his jacket to my face like a pining young teen, which is actually what I was.

* * *

The next day, I went to class without breakfast, trying to avoid Draco and his goons. I knew that seeing him would be weird for me. Also, I didn't want to get insulted by the boy I liked first thing in the morning. Potions was boring, other than Draco stealing glances at me when he thought no one was looking, and me studiously trying to be not-looking.

I kept my head down as everyone piled outside for Care of Magical Creatures. I had my book bound with a spare tie that I had, and I heard Hagrid say to stroke the spine. I frowned, doubtful, but did as he said and opened to the correct page. I watched, smiling a bit, as Neville Longbottom went down with the book, apparently having forgotten to stroke the spine. I sort of tuned out until I heard Draco say something about telling his father about something, and I rolled my eyes. I shut my book and walked over where everyone was circled around Harry and Draco. I was just in time for Draco to yell something about dementors, and I blanched, looking around, as did Harry and everyone else. I looked back to see Draco and his cronies pull up their hoods and wiggle their fingers out, making noises.

I walked over and slapped Draco's hands down, glaring at him. "That's not _funny_ , jerk-off."

Draco scowled at me, moving closer and towering over me as if to intimidate me. "How _dare_ you touch me with your mudblood slime."

"Funny you say that, seeing how you're the one being a slimy little bastard right now. I should be screaming 'ew' for all the slime you probably just got on me." I looked up at him, our chests almost touching as we glowered at each other. Then Draco stepped back, seeming to gain a little color in his face, and I thought about how close we were. I moved away, noticing Hermione's look of approval, and Harry and Ron's looks of surprise. I opened my book back up to the correct page as Hargrid cleared his throat and started class.

Buckbeak the hippogriff was an amazing creature, and I was sort of awestruck watching him. I crinkled my nose as Hagrid threw another fur-covered piece of meat to-oh, God, those were ferrets. I felt bile rise up in my throat and tears threatened. I loved ferrets, so cute and playful and cuddly when they wind down. I felt Draco lean over to my ear. We were in the back, so no one would notice.

"Are you...about to cry?" He sounded incredulous as he whispered.

I swiped at my eyes. "No."

"Was it what I said? I did warn you," he whispered back. He actually sounded slightly concerned. The boy had to be bipolar or something.

"No, Hagrid's just feeding Buckbeak...he's feeding him ferrets." Tears threatened again, and I swiped them away once more. "I don't like seeing animals hurt, or killed."

"Huh. Never would've figured," he whispered, then stopped as everyone took a step back so they wouldn't be chosen to 'say hello' the dangerous beast in front of us.

That left Harry to step up. I watched with bated breath as he backed up and snapped a twig, and grabbed Draco's sleeve out of instinct. I blushed and took my hand away.

I could feel almost Draco's lips on my ears as he whispered, "Worried about boy wonder over there? Crush? Here I thought I was the only one, turns out you're just another mudblood slut." He sneered at me.

"I don't have a crush on him, you idiot. It just scared me," I whispered back furiously. I looked down as I said, "I don't have a crush on you either, jerk face. Don't call me a fucking slut when you're the one that just goes around kissing girls out of nowhere."

He looked down at me angrily, and was about to retort when Harry came riding back on Buckbeak. Draco pushed to the front of the crowd, and I grabbed the back of his robes, shaking my head. He shook me off and went right up to Buckbeak, pissing the creature off. He earned himself a deep gash on his arm and Hagrid took him to the nurse. I followed after, even though everyone else scattered when class was dismissed, even Draco's so-called 'friends.'

Once they were inside, I waited out in the hallway. I was basically unnoticed, since Draco was screaming about how the 'bloody chicken' had killed him. Hagrid finally came out. He looked surprised to see me standing there. "Did ya need somethin', Savela? You feelin' okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little...headache," I lied. He nodded and started to walk past me. "Hey, Hagrid? Er, Professor?" He turned back to me. "I thought Buckbeak was really wonderful."

He smiled. "Thank ya, Savela." Then he walked off.

I headed through the doors of the nurse's office and easily made my way to Draco, since he was still making noise and moaning about his arm. Madame Pomfrey was scolding him for it, though. She made sure he knew it was just a scratch. I smiled, relieved to know it was all fine. When Madame Pomfrey was done bandaging Draco up, she turned around and looked startled. "Ah, Savela, are you here for him?" I smiled and nodded. "He's all good to go. I wrote instructions down, they're next to his bed. He'll be good as new in no time." Then she walked off.

I looked at Draco as he frowned at me. "The hell are you doing here, Shae?"

As I sat down on the end of the bed he was in I said, "Wow, you sure know how to treat someone who was worried about you. I notice none of your friends are here, but I am, simply because I wanted to see how you were doing." I looked at his arm. "Must not be too bad, since you've stopped screaming about how you got killed." I smirked and looked back up to his face.

He chewed on his lip. "You were worried?"

"Not terribly worried because it _was_ just a scratch, and you _did_ deserve it for being an idiot, but yes. I wanted to make sure everything was alright." I stood up and wandered over to look at the notes on the nightstand next to the head of the bed.

"It was the bloody chicken's fault, not mine!"

I held up a hand to stop Draco. "Not interested. I know what I saw." I looked at him, and suddenly a mischievous glint lightened his eyes. I frowned.

"Well, either way, I need someone to help carry my stuff. Since no one else is here, that's you." He smirked as I gaped. "You'll have to stay near me in case I need...anything."

"No way, you don't want a 'filthy mudblood,'" I made quotes in the air with my fingers, "touching any of your stuff anyway."

"You're the only one here, and it's only right that you help your superiors." I glared at him, and turned to leave. He snagged my sleeve and looked at me with puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"

I looked at his hand on me, blushed, then nodded. _That was damn cute._ "Well, c'mon then, just back to the dorms, right?" I gathered his stuff, making sure to grab the note with instructions for him on it.

He smirked and got up, his arm resting in a sling. "Yeah."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Secret**

Draco and I walked in relative silence as we went down to the common room. No one was around, they must've been in class. _I need to make sure to get a note to excuse my absence for helping Draco._ I sighed as Draco glanced over at me. Again.

We finally got the common room, which was also deserted. As we walked toward the steps to the boys' dorms, I said, "Okay, I can't go up there, so you'll have to make trips to come back and get your stuff, or wait for class to let out so someone can help you."

Draco looked back at me. "Girls can come up to the boys' rooms, Shae. C'mon, at least bring my stuff to my room." He turned and started up the stairs.

I followed him, surprised. "Oh, um, okay."

We finally came to a door that Draco opened easily, and went inside with confidence. He went straight to what I assumed was his bed. I followed after him, much more tentatively. Heat was crawling up my face. It was weird to be in a boy's room. I went to his bed and dropped his stuff at the foot of it. Draco was already leaning back, laying in the bed.

I turned to leave. "Um, well, uh, since I got your stuff here, I'll be leaving now." Draco's uninjured hand reached out and snagged my hand quickly, and tugged me down so I was sitting on the bed next to him. If my face wasn't red before, I was positive it was now. "Draco, what are you doing?"

He leaned up so he was right next to my face. He whispered, "This." Then he kissed me. Not just a peck, a real kiss. His lips moved against mine, and I kissed him back, helpless to resist. He tugged me closer with his free hand, burying his hand in my hair. He tilted my head to the side, trying to deepen the kiss. He ran his tongue across the seam of my lips, trying to get me to open up. That's when I pulled back.

I was breathless. "You don't like me Draco, you've made that abundantly clear. Why do you keep _kissing_ me?" I didnt like it. Well, I liked the kiss, just not that he was kissing me one second, and calling me a mudblood slut the next.

Draco kept his hand in my hair, keeping me close to him. He smirked. "Its fun, Shae. And I noticed you said nothing about _you_ not liking _me._ It's pretty obvious you're enjoying yourself, so why not relax and take what you can get. No one else seems to be lining up to kiss you."

I frowned at him, trying to pull back a bit, but he was stronger, and I really didnt want to get away all that bad. "None of those are good enough reasons, Draco. You make fun of me every chance you get, and your entire little gang has made my school life hell since first year. You spilled a forgetfulness potion on me! That's not something you do to someone you want to kiss."

He smirked, that trademark smug look on his face. "Well, you're beneath me, I couldn't have anyone knowing that I might not hate the mudblood."

"'Might not hate' is still not good enough to kiss me. I don't want...whatever this is you're doing. If you like me, then say it. If you don't, don't kiss me." I crossed my arms, resolved, though I brushed against his chest in doing so.

"Fine, Shae, I like you. Can we kiss now?"

I just looked at him, shocked he actually said it. "Um, but you insult me. All the time."

He sighed, "Well, like I said, I can't have everyone knowing. Or anyone, for that matter. I have a reputation to uphold, and my parents would kill me."

"So, what, we're going to be in a secret relationship?" I raised my brows at him. I didnt know what to think about that. _On one hand, i get to be with him. On the other, I don't really get to be with him in public._

He smiled. "Shae, would you like to be my secret girlfriend?"

My mind flailed for a response. _This is insane. He's ashamed to be seen with me, to even be seen not insulting me._ All that came out of my mouth, though, was, "Yes." I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be with the boy I'd had a crush on for years, even with restrictions.

He leaned in and kissed me, and when he asked for entrance to my mouth with his tongue, this time I acquiesced, opening my mouth. Our tongues danced together, and I was tingling with heat all over. I put one of my hands on his shoulder, and ran the other through his hair. His hair! It was so soft, and I couldn't stop touching it as he kissed me deeply. His hand went from my hair to my neck, then to my waist. He tried to pull me closer, but was having a hard time of it because of his injury. I scooted a little closer, both my hands in his uber soft hair. After a little bit, we both pulled away, both breathing hard.

I smiled at him, genuinely happy. "You're thirteen Draco, where the hell did you learn to kiss like that?"

He smirked, arrogance dominating his demeanor. "I _am_ Draco Malfoy."

I rolled my eyes, still smiling like an idiot. "So you are." I whipped my head toward the door of the dorm room, hearing faint voices. "Everyones out of class for now. I better go."

He pulled me back to him with a hand on my cheek. He kissed me again, but it was softer this time, tender and sweet. "Remember, when we're around everyone else, it'll be just like normal. No one can know."

I nodded, in a daze. "I know." I stood up, stumbling a little from nerves. I picked up all of my things and headed toward the door, then looked back and smiled at Draco. I walked through the door, pushing past the boys of my house. They all stopped and stared at me, wondering what a girl, let alone the mudblood girl, was going coming from their rooms.

I walked faster, straight out of the common room. It would be time for lunch soon, and I needed to pull myself together. I went to the bathroom on the second floor. It was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, so no one would be there. I walked into it, going to the first sink and mirror I could see. My hair was completely messed up, and my clothes were crinkled and ruffled. I blushed, fixing everything to be presentable. I looked up after I finished straightening my skirt, only to find three people down by the stalls, staring at me. I blushed furiously. What were the Golden Trio doing here?

"Oh, um, hi. I didnt think anyone would be here." I looked at the two boys, frowning. "Isnt this a girls' bathroom?"

This time it was them blushing. "We were just talking about...stuff," Harry said.

Hermione jumped in, changing the subject. "That was awesome, what you did in Hagrid's class." I looked at her, confused. "You know, slapping Draco's hands when he was being an idiot? You called him a 'slimy little bastard,' too." She laughed. "It was great, the look on his face!"

Realization washed over me. I had already forgotten what happened that morning. I was a bit preoccupied with what had happened after that. "Oh, well, he was being a jerk. I'm sort of used to firing back at him. Plus, the dementors thing was just mean." I shook my head. "Those things are terrible."

"Yeah, they are," Harry mumbled. "Thanks for sticking up to him and his cronies, even though you're in the same house. I hope you don't get too much trouble from them for it."

I laughed. "I get shit from them for doing nothing. Coming back at them isnt going to make things worse." I looked at Harry. "Besides, I didnt do it for any of you. Draco knew that I passed out on the train, as well. He was probably waiting until we were both around to do something like that." _But was he? He might not have even been considering me when he did that. He did say he likes me._

Harry raised his brows, and exchanged some sort of look with his two friends. "You fainted? Why?"

I bit my lip, hesitating. "Both of my parents died in front of me before first year started. That's actually why I'm at Hogwarts, not the United States wizarding school. We were in London for my birthday, and Professor Dumbledore found me there after...it happened." I swallowed, looking down. "Anyway, I think it had something to do with that. I heard them shouting, then I was out like a light." I leaned back on a sink, needing to feel something to ground me. I didnt talk about my parents, ever. It was too hard.

Harry nodded. "I was the same. I heard a woman screaming, then I fainted."

Ron's low voice came from behind Harry, "You don't need to tell her that. She's a _Slytherin._ She probably is going to report everything we say back to Malfoy, the slimy git." He was looking at me with mistrust.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yeah, the mudblood Slytherin is going to report back to the group that hates her. Because that makes sense. Idiot."

Hermione stepped between us. "Okay, calm down. Ron, you know what they say about her. She's a muggleborn, relax." She looked at me, "Sorry, we don't generally like Slytherins much."

"Yeah, I noticed," I glared at Ron. "Being a Slytherin isnt a bad thing, you know. Ambition, cleverness, cunning, resourcefulness. Thinking before acting. Those aren't bad traits to have. It's just that some not-so-good people have been in this house." I looked at all of them. "The same is true for all of the houses, though. It's just that people always focus my house." I looked straight back to Ron. "Either way, having prejudice against someone just for their house is _exactly_ the same thing that Draco and everyone else do for muggleborns. You're no better than him."

Ron gritted his teeth, obviously about to lose his temper. I just whirled around, grabbed my stuff, and walked out, ignoring their calls as Hermione tried to apologize for him.

I hoped they'd be less idiotic about having different houses after that, but I didnt really care at that point. I was just pissed. _Gryffindors think they're just so much better than everyone else. Their pride and egos need to be taken down a notch._

I went to lunch, ate, and ignored everyone else. Draco was down the table, making a huge fuss about how they were going to cut off his arm if it had been a second later. I rolled my eyes. Pansy was there, and so were a few other girls, fawning over him. It made me want to punch something. Preferably, them. I was definitely jealous. How could I not be? We did just get done making out, and we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Even if was only in secret.

I got up after I finished, and went back to my dorm room to wait it out until it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

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 **I just want to thank lala423 for being there to review every time I post a new chapter! You really make me want to continue and get the next chapter out as fast as possible! Hopefully I'll be able to continue the story like this, one or two chapters a day. Thank you guys for reading, and please remember to review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay guys, I know I have had quite a few typos the past few chapters. I've been writing these on my tablet, trying to edit, but it's not ideal. My keyboard just arrived so I can finish faster now. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

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 **Chapter 7**

 **Fears**

As Dark Arts class began, I couldn't stop watching Draco. Even looking pissed off, with his arm in a sling, muttering about how this class was ridiculous, I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. Suddenly, I was being pushed toward the front of a line that had formed while I wasn't paying attention. _O_ _h, crap, what's going on?_ I watched as a Gryffindor girl said "Riddikulus!" The monster in front of her turned into a clown. I got the gist of it from that. Ron did the same to a spider, with roller skates.

I was being thrust toward the front of the line. _Fuck, what's my greatest fear? Broken heart? Dying? The dementors?_ I didn't know. Finally, it was my turn.

I watched as the boggart took it's time transforming, then it stopped. Two people were lying on the ground, blood covering their clothes. My eyes filled with tears. I whispered, "Mom? Dad?" The tears fell, and I realized what my biggest fear was. It had already happened. A drunk driver, running over my parents as if they weren't even there, in the middle of the day. I wasn't scared of the driver, or of cars, though. I was scared of being alone. I dropped my wand, covering my face with both hands. "No, no, no, nononono..." I felt someone ushering me away, and class resumed, though it seemed far away and more muted than before. I looked up to see Proffessor Lupin tell someone to take me back to my dorm, then he walked off to get in front of the boggart, in front of someone else's greatest fear. _Why didn't he do that for me?_

I was blindly following someone, so I looked up to see who. _Draco. Of course it is._ As soon as we were out of sight, so no one could see us, he put his arm around me and pulled me to him. I sobbed into his robes, being careful to not bump into his arm. Finally, I pulled away and wiped my face with my hands. "Sorry, that was just...a lot. I got your robes all wet."

He smiled at me. "I'll just change after I take you to your dorm, per Professor Poor-man's orders."

I laughed, still a little tearful. "It's a bit much for a brand new relationship, huh? Dealing with me while I'm distraught like this. I fucking hate Defense Against the Dark Arts. Who was Lupin jumping in front of anyway?"

He sneered, "Perfect little Potter, of course."

I nodded. "Makes sense. He would jump in front of him because his parents died, but not me." I rolled my eyes. "I guess we know he's playing favorites."

Draco took my hand in his, and I smiled a bit at him. "I already knew he would, he's a dirty, nasty old professor. Exactly the sort that the Golden Boy likes to keep around."

He walked me back to my dorm, us talking shit about Proffessor Lupin the whole way there. I figured if I hadn't seen what i did, it would've been a very cool lesson. However, that he just let me see my dead parents, but jumped in front of Harry Potter's boggart, that infuriated me. I could've stood it if there was fair treatment.

When we got to the common room, I finally remembered. "Oh, fuck! I dropped my wand back in the classroom."

Draco just smirked and pulled his hand out of mine. He reached into his pocket, pulling out my wand. "I got it."

I smiled as I took the wand, then put my arms around him and hugged him, "Thank you."

I started to pull back, but his arm around my waist stopped me. I looked up at him, right in time to see his eyes close as he kissed me. He kissed me deeply, not asking for permission this time before he forced my lips open and ran his tongue around my mouth. He pressed me harder against him, and I kissed back. We were in the common room, and if we were being secret, this was reckless. I was sure as hell okay with it, though. He backed me against a wall, and I want pliant against him, kissing him back with hunger. He finally pulled back, smirking. "Let's get you up to your room, shall we?"

I nodded, then remembered as i started on the steps, "But boys can't come up-" i cut myself off when i realized that he already was coming up the stairs. I shook my head and continued. "Is everything i know about this school a lie?"

I could practically feel his smirk, even though he was behind me. "Probably, if you were really under the impression that boys and girls cant physically go up to each other's rooms. We're not _supposed_ to, but we _can_."

I opened the door to my dorm room and stepped inside. "Well, here's my single dorm room. You know, I have to have a single since all of my things and clothes get stolen, torn, or broken when I'm around other girls." I looked pointedly at him.

He flushed slightly. "Sorry about that. Prejudice runs deep. It's hard to get over the things that have been ingrained in you since birth." He stepped into the room. "Very nice. I'm a little jealous that you have a single, actually."

I closed the door behind him. I thought my room was nice, too. Except that it was a complete messy disaster. I liked to just throw things wherever they landed, and since I d5idnt have any roommates, I didn't have to worry about cleaning up. I didn't much like it when the house elves came and fixed everything. I knew where everything was in my order of disorder. I looked to my bed, blushing when I realized that Draco's hoodie was still on there, right on my pillow. I started to move toward it, so I could hide it before he saw. He caught my wrist. I looked back to find him smirking. It was the most smug grin I thought I'd ever seen.

"Keeping my jacket close while you fell asleep, huh?" He sounded playful, and had a twinkle in his eye. "We weren't even together yet. For all you knew, I still hated you. Why'd you keep it?"

I bit my lip. "Um, it's a perfectly good jacket. Waste not, want not?" I tried, hoping he would drop it. It was extremely embarrassing that I curled up with his jacket and went to sleep like that.

He sat down on the bed, tugging me down to his lap, turning me so I was straddling him. "I think you like having my jacket." He smirked at my blush, then kissed me, hard. He pulled back for a moment. "Its actually very much a turn on, thinking of you in here, snuggling with my jacket as you sleep." He kissed me again, then started kissing down my neck. He pulled his hand around, and started one-handedly unbuttoning my shirt.

I frowned, reaching down and stopping him as he reached the middle of my shirt. He stopped and looked up at me, confused. "Hey, Draco. We're fucking thirteen years old. We literally just got together. _Today._ Don't you think you're moving a little fast?" I looked down at my half-unbuttoned shirt pointedly.

He rolled his eyes and sat back. "Well, what do you want to do? Talk about our feelings?" he sneered.

I sighed. "I mean, boyfriends and girlfriends do that, you know. Not just make out and," I blushed, "whatever you were about to try to do." I climbed off of his lap. "Don't get me wrong, I love all that, but this relationship is kind of very new, and you did steal my first kiss just yesterday. I would rather get to know you right now, to be honest."

He looked at me, surprised. "That was your first kiss?" I just nodded, looking down. "Sorry, I didn't know. I figured you would've at least kissed someone during the summer. We're budding teens, and all that."

I laughed. "Draco, my home life isn't really a life. I live in a group foster home, rarely starting the adoption process. When I do get picked by a family, something magical ends up happening, so they think I'm possessed or evil. I don't really have much opportunity to kiss boys, I'm too busy being exorcised all the damn time."

He put his hand on mine, on my knee. "I didn't know that you were in foster homes. The muggles, they try to exorcise you?" He gave me an unbelieving look as I smiled and nodded. "Just confirms what I've always thought: Muggles are idiots." He looked at me for a moment, his expression losing the humor. "Shae, if they thought you were possessed, evil, or whatever, did they do worse things to you? Worse than trying to exorcise you?"

I looked away. I definitely hadn't expected to be having this conversation. "Sometimes they try to, and I quote, 'beat the devil out' of me. Obviously, it doesn't work, but that doesn't stop many of them from trying. Most of them just return me to the foster home, say I was causing trouble, or trying to fight with people." I looked at him. "I'm used to it. Anyway, I don't want to talk about that."

He leaned forward and kissed me softly. He pulled away. "That seriously sucks, Shae. So you get shit from everyone here, then go home and get shit, too." He sighed. "I can't risk anyone finding out about us, but I hope that at least this," he gestured between us, "will give you some amount of happiness while at school?" He smiled a little.

I smiled back at him. "Draco, I've been so happy that we're actually together, but I do have friends. Your insults aren't the only thing that happen to me around here."

"Speaking of which, how long have you had a crush on me? I'm curious." His smiled turned teasing.

I blushed, again. I couldn't seem to stop doing it since I've been around him the past two days. "Uh, that's not really important, is it?"

He nodded, "Oh, but it is."

"Well, if you must know, I've had a crush on you since you walked into my compartment on the train, first year." I smiled at the memory. "You complimented my hair, and I complimented yours. You know, before you found out I was a mudblood and used the leg-locking curse on me."

He bit his lip. "Don't call yourself a mudblood." I started to retort, but he cut me off. "It doesn't matter if you don't think it's insulting because you weren't raised with the term. It's degrading to yourself. It's an insult of the highest order, and if other witches and wizards hear you calling yourself that, they'll think you have no self-respect. It makes you a bigger, easier target for others." He looked at me seriously. "Plus, I don't like you calling yourself that."

I smiled a little. "Trying to protect me already?" I looked at his face, realizing that he was being sincere. I relented, "Alright, I'll try to break that habit." We fell silent for a few minutes, both lost in our own thoughts. I looked back up at him, trying to lighten the mood. "So, you know how long I've liked you. Now, how long you _you_ had a crush on _me_?"

He turned pink, which was hilariously cute, looking flustered. "Ah, well, let's talk about something else."

I laughed. "That was the lamest attempt at a subject change I've ever heard. I told you how long I've liked you, now you tell me."

He looked down, still blushing. He muttered, so low I could hardly hear him, "Since that first day on the train, too."

"What?" I said, incredulously. "You've liked me all this time, but you've been so horrible to me all this time, too?"

He cringed. "I couldn't have anyone knowing that I fancied a mud-" he soppted himself, "-muggleborn. My parents would literally kill me. They're the pureblood elite at its grandest."

I sighed, "Well, at least you finally saw the light."

We sat there, just talking about stuff-minor things, major things-for a couple hours. Then, the spell was broken, and we had to go back to real life. Draco had to leave before anyone got out of class. Once he left, I sat on my bed, looking at Draco's hoodie. I smiled and put it on, breathing in his smell, then laid back in my bed and squealed like a little girl.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, I know it's been a while. I have decided not to promise every day updates because it seems that as soon as I do, something comes up and I can't fulfill that promise. I'm going to start a new job in a couple of weeks, so hopefully that will give me more time to update. Sorry for the delay!**

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Chapter 8

A few days later, we had double potions class with the Gryffindors. Draco and I hadn't been able to see each other in private since after the boggart incident. Pansy Parkinson, as well as all her friends, were fawning over Draco's 'injury' too much. I knew for a fact that it had healed up the day that it had happened. There probably wouldn't even be a scar when the bandage came off, but of course Draco had to soak up the attention. I wished he wouldn't, but he wouldn't be him if he didn't.

When Draco swaggered in, no problem with being late, I watched him. I had happened to get stuck at the same table with Harry and Ron, so I was surprised when Draco came over to the table and started setting up next to me, with the other two boys across from us. I shot him a confused look, to which he just shrugged. Snape hushed the class and began explaining the Shrinking Solution that we were going to be making. I wasn't paying attention. I kept sneaking looks at Draco from the corner of my eye. I had enough problems concentrating when he was in the same classroom as me, which was always, let alone sitting right next to me.

Snape finished his lecture. As soon as he did, Draco called out that he needed help cutting his roots because of his arm.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. I looked at Draco, trying very hard not to smile. So _that's_ what he was up to, coming over here. Just trying to stick in the Gryffindors' craws. I pressed my lips together, focusing down on my own roots, trying to remember how I was supposed to cut them for this recipe.

"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," Snape called over. I looked up, seeing Ron turn extremely red.

"You're not even hurt," he seethed at Draco.

Draco smirked at Ron, "You heard the Professor. Cut up my roots, Weasley."

I watched as Ron roughly cut up Draco's roots, no care at all for how they looked. I may not have been paying attention, but I knew that wasn't the way to cut them. Draco called out that Ron was messing up his roots, so Snape told them to switch. Ron looked upset, and I could see why. His were really well done, all in equal pieces. He almost didn't do it.

I looked at Ron. "Oh, for God's sake, just give him your roots. I'll take his. Mine aren't cut up yet, you can cut them if you want to switch with me." I started switching Ron's roots to Draco's side, as Draco frowned at me. He wanted to mess with them, not me, that much was apparent, but what was he going to do now? Take it all back? Not likely.

Ron looked at me, obviously confused, but his happiness to take the second chance with new roots was all over his face. "Thanks," he mumbled toward me.

I nodded. I tried to salvage what I could of the mutilated roots, but honestly, I was bad at this stuff anyway. Mine probably wouldn't have come out any better. Maybe I would've had a chance if Draco wasn't so damn distracting. He called out for his shrivelfig to be skinned, and Snape told Harry to do it.

Harry apparently couldn't hold back, "Professor, why not have Shae do it, since she's from Slytherin house, too?"

I looked up. "Don't drag me into this mess, Potter." He was going to be called 'Potter' until he proved that he wasn't a pig-headed idiot. Which he was not doing right now.

Snape came over. "Not that I need to explain to you, Potter," he sneered, "but Savela is dreadful at preparing ingredients. It would be sabotage to tell her to do his ingredients, just as it would be for Longbottom over there." Snape walked away.

Harry scowled as he skinned the shrivelfig for Draco as fast as possible and threw it back over to him.

I frowned as I cut my finger trying to skin my own own shrivelfig. "That is a fair point." I reached down to my bag and got a bandaid out, wrapping the cut. It'd have to be cleaned later. I looked up at the Gryffindors across the table. "Hey, you could even take that as a compliment. He thinks you're both competent at potions, which is saying something for Snape."

Draco scoffed. "Shae, if you actually spent two seconds paying attention, instead of wherever you go in your head, you'd be competent, too."

I shrugged. "Don't fucking come to my table and distract me, then, Draco. I didn't ask to be a part of whatever you're doing to be an asshole today. Go somewhere else so people can fawn over your fake injury," I said, real bitterness seeping into my voice. So, I might've been a little upset that he'd rather have idiots falling all over themselves for him than make time for me.

"It's not fake," he scowled, obviously getting defensive. "I could've lost my arm-"

I cut him off, "You could've died, blah, blah, blah. Tell it to someone who cares." I glared at him. Okay, I might've been a lot upset.

He glared back at me. We were just sitting there, glaring, until I relaized that Harry and Ron were staring at us. I huffed and went back to my potion.

Harry started cutting up Draco's caterpillars, and Draco tried to recover his bravado with a smirk, talking about how Hagrid was going to get fired. Draco definitely knew how to get under people's skin. I shook my head, rolling my eyes. I decided to ignore the boys at my table. They were all idiots. I tried to peek over at what Hermione was doing so I could copy her, since she was the best at potions, besides Draco.

Snape started berating Neville for his orange potion, which was supposed to be green. I winced as Snape threatened to feed the possibly-deadly potion to Neville's toad. Low blow.

Another Gryffindor leaned over and started telling Harry about a nearby sighting of Sirius Black, the reason for the dementors on the train and around the school. When he was done, I saw Draco lean forward. He had a mean-spirited smirk on his face.

Draco started telling Harry about how he should take revenge for something Black had done, but wouldn't say what. I frowned at Draco, tugging on his robe beneath the table. He ignored me, and continued to taunt Harry. I tugged harder. He finally stopped when Snape told everyone to clear away from the cauldrons so the potion could simmer. I heard Crabbe and Goyle snicker behind me.

I went to wash my hands, and Draco somehow made it back over next to me, washing his hands as well. I frowned at him, turning off the water. I started to walk away, toward a back corner. He followed me. When we were away from other students, who were busy focusing on Neville as he rushed to finish, I turned back to him.

"What the fuck do you want, Draco?" I hissed at him.

"Shae, you know we can't be open about this, but I still like you. Why are you so mad at me?" he whispered. He frowned, looked around to make sure no one was watching.

"You've had time in the past few days to have dozens of girls fall all over you about your injury-which I know is healed, by the way-but you don't have enough time to see me alone for a few moments, even like this?" I raised my brows at him, indignation clear in my expression. "What the fuck is that about?"

He looked down, seeming embarrassed. "I spent a lot of the time the past few days talking to my father, if you must know. I was going to tell you later. He's trying to get that bloody oaf, Hagrid, fired for my injury."

I rolled my eyes. "Jesus, Draco, you got scratched. It would've been a good lesson if you had stayed back and listened. Hagrid said not to do exactly what you did. You're the one to blame, not him."

He sighed. "Can we talk about this tonight? I found a good spot, no one will find us there." He looked at me hopefully.

I bit my lip. "Where?" I didn't want it to, but eagerness must have crept into my tone, because he smiled a little. He didn't need to know I was excited, he needed to know I was _upset_.

"On the way to the dungeons, there's a tapestry of Salazar Slytherin. Behind it, there's a secret room. Meet me after dinner tonight."

I nodded, then faced the front of the room as Neville's toad was put to the test. I sighed with relief when it shrank, and Snape enlarged it again, looked upset. He took points away from Gryffindor for Hermione helping him, but I was glad that she did. The toad probably would've died if not for her.

Class was then dismissed, and I thought about Draco as I left the room. He had gone ahead of me with his cronies. I thought about him being mean to Harry, and Ron, and the look in his eye when he was taunting them. It was almost malicious. However, that look wasn't there when he talked to me. Not even when he insulted me, not anymore. Change may come slowly, but it could come.

I smiled a little bit, thinking about meeting him later. It might be more than just a crush for me, though it was far too soon to say so.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Thoughout the rest of the classes during the day, I was more distracted than normal. I couldn't stop thinking about meeting Draco later. Finally, it was supper time in the Great Hall. I picked at my food, glancing over while Draco made a scene about his arm.

I sighed. _When was he going to stop that?_ I hoped it would be soon. I was jealous over all of the girls that were trying to touch on him, trying to 'take care' of him. _He doesn't need taking care of, he needs to get his head out of his ass._ I looked back down at my barely-touched food, and glanced one more time to where the girls were all over Draco. He was looking back at me. I flushed slightly, then pushed back in my seat and left the Great Hall. I decided I would just wait for him in the secret room, where I wouldn't have to see the idiots pandering to him.

When I got to what I assumed was the correct tapestry of the founder of my house, I looked around to make sure no one was around. Of course, they weren't, since they were all eating. I pulled the tapestry aside. I saw...a wall. I frowned, thinking that Draco must've gotten it wrong, or I found the wrong tapestry. Then, I noticed a little groove in the wall, almost like a handle. I pulled on it a little, and the door swung open, revealing darkness inside.

"Lumos," I said, lighting up my wand. I looked around once more, then stepped inside. As soon as I was a few steps into the dark corridor, the door behind me swung shut on its own. I frowned. _That was creepy._ I turned and started forward, lighting the way with my wand. It was only a moment before I came to the secret room that Draco must've been talking about. I went to a lantern on the wall, whispering, "Incendio." I did the same to a few other lanterns around the room, then looked around. It was a small room, dressed in greens and silvers, which made sense, as it was behind a portrait of Salazar Slytherin. There was a small fireplace, which I did not light. In front of the fireplace was a green couch with silver trim, and a small coffee table. There was a desk in the corner. The place reminded me of a private office, or a study room, which was probably what it was intended for. Everything was coated with a layer of dust that had me sneezing as soon as I tried to brush some of it off the couch.

While I was busy trying to control my sneezing fit, I heard someone chuckle. I looked to the entrance to the room, putting a hand over my heart. "Fucking hell, Draco, you almost gave me a heart attack." I sneezed again. "Damn, it's dusty in here."

He smirked at me, then waved his wand and muttered a spell that had all the dust gathering up into a ball, then poofing into non-existence. I raised my brows. He came over, smirking down at me. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me toward him, and I looked up at him with a sort of pouty look. He was pulling me in, and he needed to know that I was upset, but then he kissed me, and that thought went away.

His lips were moving against mine, and I went pliant against him, relaxing. I put a hand on his shoulder. His tongue came out, asking for entrance, but I stubbornly kept my mouth closed. He nipped my bottom lip a little bit in punishment, and I started to gasp at the slight sting that I wasn't expecting. He took the opportunity and dove into my mouth with his tongue. I kissed him back, just as deep, helpless since he was already there. He moved me over the the couch and we broke apart as I stumbled back into it, sitting down hard. He sat next to me, and leaned in to kiss me again.

I was breathing hard, but I put up a hand to stop him. "Draco, I am upset. You can't just kiss that away."

His eyes glittered. "It seemed like I was doing a pretty good job of it."

I rolled my eyes. He might've been right, but I wasn't going to let him know that. "We haven't seen each other in private in days, and you just want to kiss? I'm starting to feel a little used."

"Shae, snogging you is great, obviously, and I want to take advantage of our alone time together," he said. He looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and I almost gave in.

"No, we need to talk about your arm. By the way, I noticed you don't have the sling on. I knew it was healed that same day!" I looked at him accusingly.

He sighed and sat back, running a hand through his hair. I watched it, wanting to do the same thing, but clenched my hands into fists, stopping myself. He looked at me. "Yes, it's healed. It's been that way ever since the night it happened, it didn't take long to heal."

"Okay, so why are you still laying it on so thick with the idiots in our house?" My face burned with anger as I thought of the girls that were trying to get closer to him with the injury as an excuse. "You just want the attention? Wait, don't answer that, of course you do. You're Draco Malfoy, what absolute _tragedy_ would it be if you didn't have everyone's fucking attention on you for ten minutes." I glared at him.

He leaned over and grabbed my hand. "My father told me to keep saying it's injured, to make a big deal out of it. He wants to get that idiotic giant fired, and the animal that hurt me executed." He pursed his lips. "I don't really have a choice in it, you have to understand. If I defy my father, it won't be pretty."

I frowned at him. "You know it was your fault that it happened, right? It wasn't Hagrid's, and it wasn't Buckbeak's. They shouldn't be punished for you being an attention-whore."

He scowled. "I wasn't being an attention-whore. If Potter could do it, it can't have been that big of a deal. Either way, the oaf shouldn't have brought a dangerous animal in front of students."

I rolled my eyes. "You were jealous of Potter getting the attention, so you sought to get it back on yourself. That's called being an attention-whore, Draco." He opened his mouth to reply, but I spoke over him. "Also, Hagrid's lesson could've been awesome, if you'd listened. You know, instead of being an attention-whore."

"Oh, so you're defending the Golden Boy, and the idiot oaf who parades as a professor?" he sneered. "Maybe you should go talk to them, since you like them so much. I know you were worried when Potter was going up to the bloody chicken, but I bet you weren't nearly as worried for me."

I yanked my hand out of his, flushed with rage. "Hagrid could be a good teacher, if he didn't have an idiot like you in his class. Also, Harry Potter may be an arrogant prick, but newsflash! So are you, Draco! I don't even like him, I like you, you stupid fucking...fucking...bag of dicks!" I flushed again as soon as it was out of my mouth, this time with embarrassment at the insult, rather than anger.

His lips twitched. "Bag of dicks?" he said, sounding amused.

I flushed even more, if possible. I crossed my arms, nodding.

His eyes sparkled, and he came closer to me. I looked up at him as he smirked down at me. "What in bloody hell is a bag of dicks, do tell?"

I looked down, away from him. He moved his hand to chin and moved my face back over to his. "You. That's what it is. It's you."

He laughed, and it was infectious. I reluctantly smiled, smacking at his chest. "Nice insult, though I wouldn't say that around anyone else."

"Shut up, I couldn't think," I muttered, embarrassed. "You know I don't like Potter. You know I like you. You pissed me off on purpose."

He smirked. "You're cute when you're angry, but you're even more adorable when you're embarrassed."

I blushed again. "It's not funny, Draco."

He chuckled. "It is, Shae." He leaned down and kissed me, and this time I let him open my mouth with his tongue.

I enjoyed the way our tongues mingled together, and the taste of him. It made me all hot and bothered, in a way I had never been before. I scooted closer a little, and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me onto his lap. He tangled a hand into my hair, and one of my hands did the same to his, while my other went to his shoulder, pulling him even closer. His hand on my back pressed me against him, so we were aligned in all the right places. I felt a bulge press against my thigh, _my bare thigh because I was wearing a skirt_ , and suddenly I became very aware of the situation. No one was going to walk in, no interruptions. I pulled back, breathless, blushing beyond belief, and he looked at me, obviously confused.

I climbed off his lap, sitting next to him instead, and saw the protrusion in his pants. I stared for a moment, then looked away quickly, going even redder.

Draco saw this, and laughed a little. "Shae, that's what happens when a guy gets turned on. We're thirteen. Teenagers, not little kids holding hands."

I bit my lip. "Draco, I like making out with you. A lot. But, uhh, I don't think I want anything more than that right now." I was still bright red. The only things I really knew about sex were what were taught to us in health class, the year before Hogwarts, in fifth grade. Which really wasn't anything, as it was more about periods and puberty.

He smirked. "We don't have to do anything more if you don't want to, but don't expect me not to get excited when we're kissing, touching, anything." He looked me in the eye. "Trust me, you're an extremely attractive girl, I can't really help it." He frowned, as if he just thought of something. "Wait, so does that mean _you_ aren't getting excited, turned on, aroused when we're doing stuff? I know I won't be able to see it, obviously, but you have to feel it, too, right?" He looked at me imploringly.

"Of course I get, um...worked up, when we're making out, it'd be impossible not to," I mumbled. "But, I still don't think I want anything more."

His frown went away, replaced by a pleased smile. "That's fine, like I said, I won't push you. I just wanted to make sure you felt it, too."

I nodded and looked away, still red. I was being awkwardly silent, but I couldn't help it. I didn't know what to say after that, and I didn't know what to do.

Finally, Draco broke the silence. "Look, Shae, we can talk, or we can kiss, or we can do whatever you want. I want to snog you senseless, but blame that on me being a guy." He looked at me, serious this time. "How about this, I'll let you be in charge tonight, we'll do anything you want."

I peeked over at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really. I'll even stop trying to jump your bones, but only if you want, and only for tonight," he said with a micheivous glint in his eye.

I smiled. "I do like when you, as you put it, 'try to jump my bones.' I just wasn't expecting...that. It surprised me," I admitted.

He smirked, "I'd be happy to continue snogging you all night, but you've got to say it. I won't do it unless you want me to."

I sighed, and blushed again as I said, "Draco, I want you to make out with me."

His smirk grew, and he leaned over and kissed me senseless. We continued like that for I didn't even know how long. When Draco finally pulled us apart, and went about striaghtening his clothes and hair, I was sad. I didn't want it to end, but I got up, and straightened my dissheveled clothes and hair, as well.

He kissed me once more, just a peck to say goodnight, and left the room before me. We had decided to stagger our exits, just in case anyone was outside. Honestly, I didn't care about anyone seeing us leaving the room together, but I knew he did, so I waited. I must've been tired, though, because when I woke up the next morning, I was on the couch of the secret room. I shot up, running out, but I had time to pull it together before the day began.


End file.
